Heat, sweat and tears …
This is my recommended list of gear and items if you are running in hot, and very hot, climates, as we do very often: both in our hometown Barcelona in summer, or around the world.
We used this equipment for races and runs like:
- The Extreme Desert Petra Marathon (post coming soon)
- The Riyadh Marathon (post coming soon)
- The beaches of tropical Koh Samui and Timor Leste (posts coming soon)
- The extremly hot and humid weather of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (posts coming soon)
- Several locations in Europe in summer
List of items:
- Suncream. I consider myself some kind of expert due to… errr… being ginger 👩🦰 Suncream is a must for me but also you should use it regardless of your skin tone!! Remember: melanin does not prevent complete protection from UV rays.
- Consider sport suncreams that are waterproof. Or, if you are, like me, a little bit of a miss vain, anti-aging ones 😻
- Cap / Visor. For me, this is mandatory. I like visors as they are very lightweight, and no matter what I do whatever with my long hair (high bun, ponytail…), they will fit. But a cap will protect you better. It needs to be fresh and flexible, and made of a material that will dry up fast.
- The amazing “Run testers” did this video when they try out the best running caps, check it out.
- Sunglasses
- Hydration: Hydration is what is going to make or break your run. Never understimate it. Unless you know the course and where water drinking fountains are, use a running vest or a running belt with water bottles. Or, as we normally do for runs under 21k, just run with small bottle of water (33ml) in your hand …
- Tank tops: The best, but only if you have enough suncream!
- Shorts
- I love Nike’s running skirt. Funnily enough, I never bought it. It was given to me during the Petra Marathon by Petra, a very kind Dutch runner – read about it in my post here.
